Ghosts In Henry James The Turn Of The Screw

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Over a century has passed since its publication, but The Turn of the Screw is still a source of debate among critics. Published simultaneously in the US and UK by Henry James in 1898, much of the early research on The Turn of the Screw focused on the question of whether or not the ghosts are real. Recent research, however, has shifted its focus to questioning what the ghosts can tell us about the Governess, Bly, class, and identity. Recent research points to the idea that there is something in the ghosts that represents the Governess; I contend that what she sees in the ghosts is that she, like them, is without an identity – or at least, without an identity that can be separated from her status. The Governess realizes that to be a governess is to have an identity confined to that position – recognizing this, the governess attempts to escape her class; however, in doing this, she confines the identity of others to their own statuses. …show more content…
Even so, Burrows contends that The Turn of the Screw is not a story of class transgression, as “transgression requires fixity – we can only know something is out of its proper place if we know what that proper place is” (Burrows 92). Burrows argues that the confusion present in The Turn of the Screw eliminates the readers’ sense of what is ‘proper.’ However, this is just not true. The readers do know where the proper place of each character is, through indication from the characters themselves. Mrs. Grose and the Governess know that Quint should not be wearing the Masters clothes – he does not even wear a hat, after all (James 23). Also, he Governess and Mrs. Grose recognize that Mrs. Grose has no right to contact the Uncle; not only is the Governess her superior, but her illiteracy physically prevents her from writing (James 60). These are just a few examples; The Turn of the Screw spends a lot of time with pointing out what is proper, so there is no lack in that
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